About

Chirault Volume 1

CA$ 9,234

pledged of CA$ 1,500 goal

201

backers

After being shrunk in a magical accident, a young girl needs help to
regain her proper size. A demon-hunter who was passing by reluctantly agrees to assist her in finding someone who knows how to get her back to normal. However, the mages who might be able to help her are all occupied with a much larger problem: a dangerous artifact has been stolen from the powerful Mage Guild, and its thief has some dark plans in mind.

STRETCH GOALS ARE A GO!!! (For more details on goals 1-5, go to Update #2)

UPDATE

For the final stretch goal: If we make it to 8k, all backers from $5 upwards will receive a PDF of short comics by multiple guest artists! And at every 1000 past that initial goal, more artists and stories will be added. :D

There's more info in Update #7, but here are the artists who will contribute at the first stage:

Chirault is a high fantasy/adventure webcomic I started working on in 2007, and I've been working on it just about nonstop ever since! The website updates on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and the story has come a long way since then. You can read it all online here! It's a member of the Spiderforest webcomic collective.

I'm raising money for my very first print run of the comic: a 160-page perfect-bound softcover, covering the story's first major arc as Teeko and her companion learn to get along.

Significant chunks of the early artwork have been redrawn for print, and most of the rest has been touched up; followers on Patreon and tumblr may have seen glimpses of some of this. There'll also be a section for extras at the back of the book, including maps and new illustrations, as well as short bios of the characters introduced in volume 1.

Printing books can be a costly endeavour, though, which is where this Kickstarter comes in! Any extra funding from this campaign will go to ordering more books, attending more conventions, and making more prints and comic-related artwork for readers to enjoy. I also have a handful of stretch goals in mind should the campaign surpass its goal...

So, on to a description of the rewards!

A new illustration, exclusive to kickstarter backers to decorate the background of your device of choice!

A digital copy of the book, in print format! It includes the extras which will not be going up on the website.

The main event: a copy of Chirault, volume 1! The illustrations in the first 150 pages of story have been updated for this printing, with over 30 pages totally redrawn to reflect the advances in technique the comic has seen over the years.

It will be printed in softcover, 6x8" (a little larger than manga-sized); the extras section at the back will include a new map, character bios, and a worldbuilding section. Thanks to meeting the stretch goal, the book will be printed in colour!

The cost of the tiers include shipping within Canada.

For people who want their copy more customized, I’ll be printing a special set of sticker bookplates to go on the inside of the front cover just for this Kickstarter! These will be sketched on and signed for everyone who backs at or above the $30 tier level; backers can request which Chirault character they'd like sketched on theirs.

The 48-page full colour minicomic ‘Shenanigans’ shows how Astrid came to join the mages’ guild. While Astrid himself won’t appear until volume 2, the minicomic contains a lot of fun worldbuilding details and reveals more of the inner workings of the Mage Guild. Its story takes place about 20 years before the events of Volume 1.

Two high-quality prints, 8.5x11" on semi-gloss cardstock! You can choose your two favourites from among the images above (you can see higher-resolution uploads here). Update: add $20 to your pledge at this tier to receive the prints at 11x17" poster size!

In addition to everything detailed above, you’ll receive a custom portrait inked in the style of the comic and coloured digitally or in marker, drawn to your request! The original art (sized 8x11) will be mailed to you along with the book-- inks only if you selected the digital colouring option. If you have questions about this tier, please contact me!.

In upcoming scenes of the comic, Teeko and the rest of the gang will be meeting up with Vivian, the hunter who trained Kiran! She leads a team of elite demon hunters in the unchartable lands north of Chirault, where the Bone City sits in its shroud of haze. You (or your avatar of choice) could appear in the comic as one of these hunters! I’ll draw a portrait of the character you will appear as, in the style of the comic, and you’ll receive a physical copy of this portrait in the mail.

The main stipulation is that the character you'll appear as has to be human (albeit with pointed ears). As the scenes with the hunters are further in the future than the arrival of volume 1 (I estimate around summer 2015), this tier’s fulfilment date is set accordingly; although, anyone backing at this tier will still receive the book at the same time as the others.

As Chirault is all drawn on paper, a lot of the concept art and supplemental illustrations are also traditionally rendered! I've decided to offer up this one as a reward for the Kickstarter campaign. You can see the full composition here.

It's inked with Micron pens and coloured with marker (a combination of brands), and is done on a piece of 11x14" heavy Bristol paper.

Modeled and printed by Morena Protti, the final sculpture stands 4" tall! The model pictured here is the first prototype.

STRETCH REWARDS:

Postcards! To be included with every copy of the book shipped out; backers can choose their favourite from three images.

Bookmarks! Drawn by the wonderful Elsa Kroese (of Spindrift), these will be included with each copy of the book shipped out. Here's a first peek at the WIP!

2-page bonus ministory! Will be included in the book itself, in the Extras section.

Stickers!!

These are what they say on the tin. :D

Note on shipping: as of about a day or so ago, Kickstarter introduced a new method of breaking down international shipping costs! Thanks to this, I can charge different amounts to people living in different regions, which is good news for Americans (since I've halved the cost of shipping there as opposed to other regions).

And, thank you so much!

Risks and challenges

I've researched a lot of the potential pitfalls that can hit a project like this, and have made some fallback plans in the event that things go sideways; I've spoken to multiple printers, and have looked into the cost of shipping out the books and other rewards; most of the heavy lifting, in terms of drawing the comic and laying out the packaging for print, has already been done as of the time I'm writing this.

This is my first ever Kickstarter, but as far as consistency in completing projects goes I've had a pretty good track record. In addition to keeping the webcomic site running without missing an update for the last couple of years, I've completed and printed a few shorter minicomics, so I've had some practice with getting books ready for print.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 100 or more
About $76

CUSTOM ART: A custom portrait, inked in the style of the comic and digitally coloured! As well as all the rewards of the tiers above (prints, minicomic, the book with a signed bookplate, wallpaper and PDF).

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 200 or more
About $151

CAMEO: You (or your original character or avatar) will appear in the comic, as a demon hunter in Vivian’s elite team! You’ll receive an inked and toned original image of the character. Includes all the rewards of the tiers above (prints, minicomic, the book with a signed bookplate, wallpaper and PDF).

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 350 or more
About $264

ORIGINAL ART: The marker original (11x14" on four-ply Bristol paper) of one of my Chirault illustrations, along with a hand-written thank you note and a sketch! More detail in the 'story' section. Also the prints, minicomic, the book with a signed bookplate, wallpaper and PDF.